Saddle gathering machine

ABSTRACT

Rotatable transfer drum removes signatures by their folded edges one at a time from a hopper and presents them to a supporting plate with their open ends extending beyond one edge of the plate. The first of a pair of rotatable signature opener drums is arranged to take the open end of each signature lying on the plate in such a fashion that a fairly sharp bend is put in the open end, thus enabling easy signature opening when the outer side is released for taking by a vacuum gripper on a second opener drum. The first opener drum is provided with long gripper fingers, short gripper fingers, and one or more vacuum grippers, for handling different types of signatures having high and low folio laps or no lap at all. The gripper fingers are operated by stationary cams on one side of the first opener drum, and a vacuum line to the vacuum gripper is provided at the opposite side of the drum and is connected to the rotor of a timing valve. The cams are coaxial with the opener drum and are held fixed in position by means of a stationary bracket extending radially from a frame member to the cams. Tamper plates or paddles are provided to engage signatures on the plate to provide a temporary steadying support when the grippers initially take hold of the open ends of signatures.

Tlnite d Mates Patent [191 Zugei 1111 aaoasaa [451 May 7,1974

[73] Assignee: Harris-Intertype Corporation,

Cleveland, Ohio 22 Filed: Julyl3,1972

21 Appl. No.: 271,488

[75] Inventor:

[52] U.S. Cl. 270/54 [51] Int. Cl B65h 39/02 [58] Field of Search270/54, 55

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,413,358 l2/l946Kleineberg....; 270/54 3,554,532 1/1971 Cosgrove et a]. 270/54 3,275,3155/1964 Zogel t 270/54 2,621,039 12/1952 Kleineberg et a1 270/54 R21,4896/1940 Kleineberg et a1 270/54 3,572,684 3/1971 Gorig ..-270/54 McCain270/54 Primary Examiner-Robert W. Michell Assisran! Examiner-A. J. Heinz[57] ABSTRACT Rotatable transfer drum removes signatures by their foldededges one at a time from a hopper and presents them to a supportingplate with their open ends extending beyond one edge of the plate. Thefirst of a pair of rotatable signature opener drums is arranged to takethe open end of each signature lying on the plate in such a fashion thata fairly sharp bend is put in the open end, thus enabling easy signatureopeningwhen the outer side is released for taking by a vacuum gripper ona second opener drum. The first opener drum is provided with longgripper fingers, short gripper fingers, and one or more vacuum grippers,for handling different types of signatures having high and low foliolaps or no lap at all. The gripper fingers are operated by stationarycams on one side of the first opener drum, and a vacuum line to thevacuum gripper is provided at the opposite side of the drum and isconnected to the rotor of a timing valve. The cams are coaxial with theopener drum and are held fixed in position by means of a stationarybracket extending radially from a frame member to the cams. Tamperplates or paddles are provided to engage signatures on'the plate toprovide a temporary steadying support when the grippers initially takehold of the open ends of signatures.

13 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 1 SADDLE GATHERING MACHINE BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION This invention is primarily an improvement in the type ofmechanisms shown in US. Pat. Nos. 2,251,943; 3,057,620; and my US. Pat.No. 3,275,315 issued Sept. 27, 1966. In the mechanism of the latterpatent, a chain transport conveyor was used for moving sheets which havebeen released from a transfer drum in the direction opposite to transferdrum rotation, in order to present them to grippers on a first openerdrum about which chains passed. Use of the chain mechanism imposedlimits on its ultimate speed and productivity of the machine. Inaddition, the open ends of signatures taken by the first opener drumwere gripped while FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the first opener drumwhich takes sheets from astationary plate;

FIG. 3 is a plan view partly in section of the first opener drumillustrated in'FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the first opener drum, takensubstantially along'lines 4 -4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a simplified side elevational view similar to FIG. 1illustrating the manner in which high folio lapped signatures arehandled by the opener drums;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5, in which low folio lap (or unlapped)signatures are handled by the opener drums; and i FIGS; 7 and 8 aresimilar views showing insert cards which may be placed in booklets orthe like, each view these open ends were substantially tangential to thedrum surface. This prevents taking advantage of the tendency of asignature to move to its natural flat state, such as occurs when a sharpbend is put in the signature. A sharp bend, upon release, provides aradially outward movement of one lap of a signature, and facilitates itsbeing grasped by the gripper means on the second opener drum.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the combination of atransfer drum, a stationary plate and a pair of opener drums, the firstof which receives signatures lying at rest on the plate in such afashion that they can be readily and easily gripped for removal from theplate. Subsequent release of a portion of the gripped edge of thesignature results in the released portion nicely moving into positionfor receipt by suction grippers on the second opener drum, for ease ofopening the signatures so that they may be released onto a saddle fordelivery at right angles to the feed of signatures.

One specific improvement relates -to details of the mechanismon thefirst opener drum, in which two sets of gripper fingers, one long andone short, and a suction gripper, which may be used together with oralternatively in place of the short fingers, are utilized for handlingvarious types of signatures, independent of whether there is no lap,high folio lap, or low folio lap at the unfolded or open ends. The longgrippers are utilized in all cases to grip and remove signatures fromthe plate. The short grippers are used to grip the long, inner end of ahigh folio lap signature and to maintain the grip on the lap after thelong grippers are opened until the signature is fully opened fordropping on the saddle. When a low folio or no lap is present on thesignatures being handled, the short grippers are latched in an inoperative position and the vacuum gripper is arranged to hold theinwardly facing side of the signature until it has been opened forrelease to the saddle.

Another aspect of the invention relates to the gripper and gripperanvil'arrangement combined with the manner of supporting and steadyingthe signatures at the time they are gripped by the long fingers, inorder that a maximum gripper bite can be taken by the grippers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevationalview of asignature gatherer illustrating the relationship of theprincipal components of my invention;

illustrating the principal length of the card being on the side oppositethat shown in the other view.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring'now to FIG. 1, ahopper 10 is loaded with signatures 11 from the operators side of themachine,

which is to the right of FIG. 1. The hopper consists of anintermittently operated conveyor mechanism 12 which maintains signatures11 against a hopper plate 13 at the lower, leftward end of the hopper10. The signatures 11 are loaded in the hopper with their folded endsdownwardly against the surface of the conveyor 12. This mechanism andcertain other elements to be described are illustrated in my US. Pat.No. 3,275,315. The lowermost portion of the hopper plate 13 is spacedabove the conveyor belts 12 to provide an opening into which vacuumsuckers 14 intermittently move once for each feeding cycle to pull theleftwardmost signature to the periphery of a transfer wheel or drum 15Two sets of grippers 16 are spaced apart about the periphery of drum 15.As illustrated in FIG. 1, the suckers 14 have just pulled a signatureagainst the drum 15, and one set of grippers 16have just closed on thesignature and are about to withdraw it from the hopper. The signature,of course, moves with the gripper as the drum 15 rotates. The gripperoperating mechanism may be conventional and will not be described indetail.

When the signature has reached the lowermost portionof the drum l5,it-moves into a relatively confined space between a plate or cradle 17and the surface of the drum 15. The plate is shown extending from approximately the six oclock to the nine oclock position with respect tothe drum 15. From the six oclock position, the plate extendshorizontally as a flat section 170. The signature travels into thisconfined space until it reaches a stop 18, which is adjustablypositioned to handle long or short signatures, as is well understood inthe art. The grippers 16 are arranged to be operated by means (notshown) to release signatures as they arrive at the stop 18. Means (notshown) may be also provided for preventing bounce of the signatures awayfrom the stop 18 upon release.

At approximately the five oclock position with respect to the drum 15, apair of tamper plates or paddles 19, one at each side of the drum 15,are arranged to move from their dotted-line to their full-line positions(as shown in FIG. 1) to have a wiping effect on the signature and causeits open end to lie in close proximity to the flat portion of the cradle17. As will be discussed later, these tampers provide an importantfunction in assuring proper gripping of the signatures for removal fromthe plate 17.

positioned with itsaxis slightly below the plate is a first opener drum20 having two pairs ofgrippers, only one of which is shown schematicallyin FIG. 1. The grippers illustrated will be designated the long grippers21, which are pivotable about a gripper shaft 22 carried by the openerdrum 20. The grippers 21 cooperate with an anvil 23 to grip the openends of signatures lying on the plate 17 as the drum 20 rotates in aclockwise direction. At the time the grippers 21 begin to take hold ofthe open end of the signature, thetamper plates 19 remain against thesignature. This isv particularly important in feeding short signatures,which may not have entered onto the curved part of plate 17. Thismomentary backside support-for the signature, coupledwith the generallyradially inwardly directed surface 23a of the anvil 23, enables thegrippers 21 to take a greater-thannormal deep bite, thus enabling a firmgripping of the stockl'This is particularly important in the handling ofhigh folio signatures, where the lap may vary, depending on the accuracyof the folder by which they were folded. Once the signature is gripped,the tampers 19 rapidly move from their full-1ine position back towardtheir dotted-lineposition, to get inwardly of the periphery of the drumpriorto the'next signature arriving at that point. lt will be noted-thatthe surface 230 of the anvil 23 extends generally radially and is curvedat its outer periphery. At thetime signatures are gripped the surface23a is approximately evenwith the flat portion of the plate 17 as shownin 'FIG. 4. The surface 23a of the anvil, if continued radially'acrossthe drum 20,

would tend to strike a chord .across the drum, so that as a signaturemoves upwardly and over the surface of the opener drum 20, a relativelysharp bend is'placed in the open end of the signature. The naturaltendency of deflected sheetmaterial is to'return to'its flat state.Therefore, the sharp bend, indicated at A in FIG. 4, imposed on'theopenend of the signature would tend to move the end outwardly of thedrum 20 upon release. As will be shown subsequently, only the outer openend will be released and it will move outwardly of the cylinder 20 atthe proper time to be gripped by a sucker 24 carried by a second openerdrum25 rotating ina counterclockwise direction As is conventional inmechanism of this type, the open end of the signature, as it approachesa nip "26, is adapted to be retained partially by the drum 20 andgripped partially by, the drum 25. This spreads the signature to opencondition for deposition onto a saddle 27 as the signature leaves thenip 26 and is released by the grip provided by the means on the drums 20and 25. As is also conventional, the open signature straddling thesaddle 27 will rest in that position until engaged by a pusher 28carried on acontinuous chain '29 travelling over a horizontal track 30past several similar saddle gatherer stations.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it will be seen that the plate 17 is ofone-piece construction, but may, if desired, be

a series of parallel, spaced-apart strips. The spacing is provided forclearance of mechanism such as the grippers 16 on the drum 15. Thetamper plates 19 are mounted on an oscillating shaft which passes belowthe plate 17. The drum 20 is mounted on a shaft 32 which extends thefull length of the machine and has other drums 20 mounted thereon atother gathering stations. The flat extended end of the plate or cradle17 has fastened thereto a fixed bracket 34 which extends radially towardthe shaft 32. The bracket 34 supports a nonrotatable collar 35 on theshaft 32, the purpose of which will be discussed later.

The details ,of the mechanism on the first opener drum can best beunderstood by cross-referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. It will be seen thatthe drum 20 includes a pair of discs-36 which are spaced-apart on theshaft 32 and are connected together by means of clamping bolts 37. Thegripper shaft 22 extends through both discs 36 and is pivotallyjournalled in bearings 39 in the discs. The shaft 22 has fastenedthereto a gripper arm 40, which, together with a gripper plate 41,comprises a short gripper 42. On one end of the shaft 22 is a lever 43fastened to the shaft. Supported at the extended end of lever 43 is acam follower 44 which cooperates with a cam 45 non-rotatably positionedon the shaft 32. The short gripper 42 grips the inside lap of a highfolio lapped signature, such as is shown in FIG. 5. In doing so, itmaintains the inside lap gripped when the long grippers 21 release theunfolded ,end of the signature. Both the short gipper 42 and the thesignature can be opened sufficiently for spreading its open end forrelease to saddle 27.

The long grippers 21 are supported on the shaft 22 by means of thebearings 39. The bearings extend 'outwardly of the discs 36 to providejournals. Each finger 21 includes a gripper arm 46 which has mounted atits gripping end a gripper plate47 for performing the actual grippingfunction in conjunction with the anvil 23.

The gripper plate 47 has a sponge rubber pad cemented to the face of theplate to engage and grip the material. Since each gripper arm 46 isfreely pivotal on its bearing 39, means must be provided for theiroperation in unison. This means is a connecting rod 48 fastened toextensions of the'arms 46 on the sides of shaft 22 remote from the endscarrying the gripper plates 47. This rod 48 has mounted on one endthereof a cam follower 49 which cooperates with a fixed cam 50concentric with the shaft 32. The earns and are held stationary by meansof bolts51 which pass through holes in the bracket 34, the collar 35,the earns 45 and 50 and a collar 52. These bolts are tapped into acollar 53 adjacent one of the discs 36. It will be noted that thisconstruction enables both'cams 45 and 50 to be placed on the same sideof the drum 20. Common gripper shaft 22 therefore provides not only theoscillation of the short gripper 42 from cam 45, but also provides thepivotal support for the long grippers 21 from cam 50.

At the end of the shaft 22 remote from that end mounting the lever 43,there is provided a collar 54 which is provided with an arm and pinwhich form an abutment for one end of a torsion spring 55, the other endof which is anchored against a groove near the end spring-closed andcam-opened. This same construction enables the long grippers 21 to bepositively-closed for better gripping action, particularly when thesignature lying at rest on the plate 17 is first taken by the openerdrum 20. The grippers 21 are positively-closed by the high dwell of cam50 acting on the cam follower 49 to move the cam followercounterclockwise with respect to the axis of the shaft 22 and, when thefollower 49 rides off the high dwell of the cam 50, the torsion spring55 acts to move the cam'follower 49 clockwise about the axis of shaft 38and thus permit the long grippers 21. to open.

The importance of the gripper construction just described is not onlyits relative simplicity, but also-that it enables placing both c'ams 45and 50 on thesame side of the drum 20. This enables use of a vacuumsucker 56 at the approximate plane of the gripping surface of the anvil23 or the periphery of the drum for handling of low folio signatures orcards as shown in conjunction with FIGS. 6 and 8, respectively. Sucker56 is preferably mounted as shown in FIG. 3 but may also be mounted atthe dotted-line position shown at 56a in FIG. 2 at the left of the drum,if desired. If necessary, a pair of suckers may be used at bothpositions simultaneously. A flexible vacuum line 57 is connected to thesucker 56. The line 57, as can be seen in FIG. 3, is connectedto arotary vacuum timing valve 58 which may be of the structure shown in myUS. Pat. No. 3,275,315. The use of the flexible line is permitted due tothe fact that there is no bracket similar to bracket 34 supporting astationary cam on the shaft '32 on that side of the drum 20 to which thevacuum line 57 is connected to the sucker. Since the vacuum line travelswith the drum 20 and a rotor 59 of the valve 58, any member such asbracket 34'extending to shaft 32 on the right side of drums 36, asviewed .in FIG. 3, would necessarily interfere with the flexible line57. Thus, the utilization of the common shaft 22 which both mounts theshort gripper and provides the pivot for the long grippers 21 hasenabled the cams, cam followers and levers for operating the grippers tobe placed on the same side tains the usual air passagesand slots toenable the tim' ing of the vacuum to the sucker 56 to take place fromthe time a signature is gripped and removed from the plate 17 to a timejust beyond the nip 26 for properly opening or spreading the signature.Details of the type of mechanism described in connection with the valve58 can be seen in my aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,275,315.

, upon release of the long gripper 21. This is of the drum 20. It thuspermits the use of a single bracket 34 to hold both the cams 45 and infixed position on the same side of the drum. This frees the area at therightward side of the drum, as viewed in FIG. 3, to enable use of theflexible line 57 for interconnecting the rotor 59 and the sucker 56.

When the sucker 56 is used for low folio laps as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8,the short gripper 42 serves no function. It may be latched ininoperative position by means of latch bar 60 which cooperates with anotch in the gripper arm 40'to maintain it against the biasing action ofthe spring 55. In this fully opened position, the cam follower 44 ismaintained slightly above the high dwell of the cam 45.

At the right side of FIG. 3, the valve 58 can be seen as comprising therotor 59, a stator 61 and a bracket and clamp assembly 62 which enablesthe angular position of the rotor 59 to be changed with respect to thestator 61. The stator 61 is mounted on a frame member 63 of thegathering machine and is connected to a vacuum source by means of a line64. The stator 61 con- Referring now to FIGS. 5 through 8, whichillustrate different types of signatures handled by the abovedescribedmechanism, it should be understood that the second opener drum 25 themounted thereon the sucker or suckers 24 in a fashion enabling angularadjustinent of the suckers with respect to the axis of the shaft 65 onwhich the drum 25 is mounted. The suckers 24 are similarly connected toa valve by means of a flexible line and another rotor (not shown)similar to that shownat the right end of FIG. 3 in connection with thevacuum line to the first opener drum 20. As shown in FIG. 5, a highfolio lap signature is shown.resting on the plate 17in dotted-lineposition. The drums 20 and 25 are illustrated inthe position in whichthe open or unfolded end of a signature is gripped by means on both thefirst and second opener drums at the nip 26, just prior to spreading fordropping onto the saddle 27. In this instance, being a high folio, lapsignature, the inner section of the signature is held by the shortgripper 42 against the anvil 23 and the long grippers 21 are illustratedas being opened at this point. The suckers 24 on the drum 25 have takenthe outer section of the signature and it is ready to be spread fordelivery to the saddle 27. If, instead of the signature having a highfolio lap, the signature is unlapped, i.e., the sides of the signatureare of the same length, the gripper 42 would have been latched out ofpositive position by means of the latch bar 60 prior to commencingmachine operation.,lnstead of the inner section of the signaturebeingheld by the short grippers, it would be held in such instance bymeans of the sucker 56, which may have its mouth at the approximatesurface of the anvil 23. Whether held in that condition by either thesucker 56 or the short gripper 42, the sharp bend in the signature tendsto make the end of the signature which is to be taken by the suckers 24to be sprung rightwardly as viewed in FIG. 5, for easier receipt by thesuckers 24 particularly true in the case of a high and low folio lap, asshown in FIGS. 5, 6, respectively, where the long grippers 21 providethe sharp bend in both the inner and outer sections of the open end ofthe signature. When the long grippers 21 release the outer section ofthe signature for taking by the suckers 24, the release of the sharpbend results in the outer section'of the signature moving nicely towardthe suckers 24 as the outer section tends to restore itself to its flatnormal condition. The sharp bend thus supplements the slight bendalready imposed by the curvature of the drum.

FIG. 6 shows the manner in which a low folio lap is handled by a saddlegatherer unit according to my invention, particularly a low folio laphaving its short section such that it does not extend over the anvil 23.In this case, either the sucker 56 can be repositioned but preferably anauxiliary sucker 66 is provided, as shown in FIG. 6, and in dotted linesin FIG. 3. This auxiliary. sucker 66 is mounted to. be angularlyadjustable about the shaft 32 at that side of the drum 20 to allpositions except the area occupied by the shaft 22 extending through thedisc 36. When running such a 'low folio lapped signature with theauxiliary sucker 66,the vacuum line 57 can be removedfrom the sucker 66,the vacuum line 57 can be removed from the sucker 56 located at theanvil 23. It can then be connected to the sucker 66, which is sopositioned about the drum 20 as to grip, the low folio lap near itsforward end, as viewed in FIG. 6. Such a low folio lapped signature isshown in dotted lines in its condition at rest on the plate 17, and isshown in solid lines shortly after opening at the nip 26. The shortgripper 42 is latched in its inoperative position under this condition,and the long grippers 21 are utilized as the sole means for gripping thesheets and removing them from the plate 17. When the sucker 66 engagesthe inner sectionof the signature, andas the outer section approachesthe suckers 24 on drum 25, the long grippers 21 will release thesignature and the suckers 66 and 24 will perform the sole function ofopening the signature for deposition on the saddle 27.

signatures with either high folio or low folio laps. Obvi- 'ously, thedrums and 25 are angularly adjustable about their respective shafts toenable taking and releasing of various lengths of folded subject matter.

What I claim is: Y 1. In a saddle gatherer, a. a hopper for supporting astack of folded signa-- tures each of which has an inner facing side, b.a rotatable transfer drum partially below and to one side of said hopperand having its periphery closely adjacent a feeding opening in saidhopper,

c. grippermeans on said transfer drum for taking signatures one at a'ti'me from said hopper by their folded edges and transporting themdownwardly in an arcuate path about said transfer drum,

d. a signature-supporting, plate having an arcuate signature-confiningportion closely adjacent to and substantially coaxially with thetransfer drum and extending upwardly from the lowermost part of the drumin the direction of drum rotation, said plate having a substantiallyflat portion extending from said lowermost part in the oppositedirection generally horizontally and tangentially to said drum tosupport the open ends of signatures due to their natural tendency toassume a flat condition,

e. stop means adjustable along the arcuate portion of .the plate forengaging the folded edge of a signature upon release by saidgrippermeans to bring" each signature to a registered rest condition onsaid plate,

. a first rotatable opener drum having a peripheral gap therein, saiddrum having its axis of rotation below and having its periphery locatedwith respect to the end of the extending flat portion of the plate 3whereby .a signature at rest on said plate has its open end extendinginwardly into the gap in a generallychordal direction which is below theuppermost portion of the opener drum periphery,

g. means for rotating said first opener drum in an upward direction withrespect to the open end of a signature supported on said plate,

h. a gripper anvil on said first opener drum for engaging theinner-facing side on the open extending end of each signature asthe-first drum rotates, said anvil having a gripping surface extendinggenerally in said chordal direction,

1'. first gripper means comprising fingers carried by said first openerdrum for gripping the open end of each signature in cooperation withsaid anvil to grip the signature and to carry it up and over said firstdrum,

j. second gripper means on said first opener drum for gripping only theinner-facing side of each signature, I i

. k. a second rotatable opener drum adjacent said first opener drum onthat side remote from said plate, said second drum having its axisspaced horizontally from,and, its surface closely adjacent to, saidfirst opener drum,

i. means for rotating said second opener drum to cause its surface totravel in the same direction with said first drum at a nip therebetween,

m. gripper means on said second opener drum for taking the outer-facingside of the open end of each signature from said first opener drum atthe nip between said opener drums to spread the signature at the exitside of said'nip in cooperation with the second gripper means on saidfirst opener drum, and

n. saddlemeans below said nip adapted to receive the opened signaturefordelivery in a direction parallel to the axes of the opener drums.

2. A saddle gatherer as defined in claim 1 wherein said hopper is spacedvertically above and on the same side of the saddle gatherer as saidopener drums.

3. A saddle gatherer as defined in claim 1 wherein said secondgrippermeans on said first opener drum comprises a vacuum sucker, saidvacu'um sucker being adjustable about the first opener drum'peripheryfor gripping 'a' low. folio lapped signature independently of said anviland first gripper finger means.

4. ln a saddle gatherer,

a. a hopper for supporting a stack of folded signatures,

b. a rotatable transfer drum partially below and to one side of saidhopper and having its periphery closely adjacent a feeding'opening insaid hopper,

c. gripper means on said transfer drum for taking signatures one atatime from said. hopper by theirerally chordal direction which is belowthe uppermost portion of the opener drum periphery,

g. means for rotating said first opener drum in an upward directionwithrespect to the open end of a signature supported on said plate,

h. a gripper anvil on said first opener drum for engaging the openextending end of each signature as the first drum rotates, said anvilhaving a gripping surface extending generally in said chordal direction,

i. first gripper means comprising fingers carried by said first openerdrum for gripping the open end of each signature from both sides incooperation with said anvil to remove the signature from said plate andcarry it up and over said first drum,

j. second gripper means on said first opener drum for gripping only theinner-facing side of each signature,

k. a second rotatable opener drum adjacent said first opener drum onthat side remote from said plate, said second drum having its axisspaced. horizontally from, and, its surface closely adjacent to, saidfirst opener drum,

1. means for rotating said second opener drum to cause its surface totravel in the same direction with said first drum at a nip therebetween,

. m. gripper means on said second opener drum for taking theouter-facing side of the open end of each signature from said firstopener drum at the nip between said opener drums to spread the signatureat the exit side of said nip in cooperation with the second grippermeans on said first opener drum, I

n. saddle means below said nip adapted to receive the opened signaturefor delivery in a direction parallel to the axes of the opener drums,

0. tamper means at the side of said transfer drum for urging andsubstantially confining each signature on the flat extended end of saidplate during gripping by the fingers of said first opener'drum, and

p. means intermittently operating said tamper means between aninoperative position inwardly of the periphery of the transfer drum andan operative position adjacent said plate, said operating means beingarranged to move said tamper means away from the plate as a signature isbeing engaged by the anvil, whereby to provide support for the uppperside of a signature during gripping.

5. A signature opener for grasping the open ends of folded signature,irrespective of whether the signature folio lap is high or low, or is ofeven length, said signature opener comprising 6 a. a plate forsupporting the signature and having a relatively flat end portionadjacent which the open end of the signature is to be grasped,

b. a first opener drum comprising a pair of spaced segmental discs eachof which having axially outer side surfaces;

0. arotatable drum shaft supporting said first opener drum for rotationtherewith,

d. means for rotating said drum shaft,

e. a gripper anvil and a first gripper finger on said drum between saiddiscs,

f. agripper shaft mounting said first gripper finger,

said shaft extending parallel to said drum shaft between said discs andbeing journaled therein,

g. a first cam follower mounted on one end portion of said gripper shaftadjacent to an outer side surface of one of said'discs,

h. a first cam disposed on said drum shaft adjacent to said outer sidesurface of said one of said discs and cooperating with said firstfollower for moving said first gripper finger away from said anvil to anopened condition,

i. a pair of second interconnected gripper fingers journaled on saidgripper shaft, each of said gripper fingers being disposed adjacent tothe outer side surface of an associated one of said discs,

j. a secondcam follower disposed adjacent to said outer side surface ofsaid one of said discs and operably connected to one of said secondgripper fingers,

k. a second cam disposed on said drum shaft adjacent to said outer sidesurface of said one of said discs and cooperating with said secondfollower for urging said second gripper fingers to grip the ends of asignature supported by said plate between the second gripper fingers andsaid anvil,

1. spring means continuously biasing said first and second cam followerstoward said first and second cams respectively during drum rotation,

m. said cams being disposed in a coaxial relationship with said drumshaft and journaled thereon adjacent to each other on the said outerside surface of said one of said discs,

n. non-rotatable bracket means connected with both of said cams formaintaining said cams against rotation,

b. a rotary vacuum valve comprising a rotor mounted on said drum shaftfor rotation therewith and a stator coaxial with said rotor and fixedagainst rotation, said valve being located on the drum shaft onthat-side of the drum remote from said fixed cams and bracket,

- v p. a vacuum gripper on .said first openerdrum and having its openface approximately coplanar with a sheet-gripping surface of saidgripper anvil,

q. a vacuum line interconnecting said valve rotor with said vacuumgripper on the side of said first drum remote from said fixed bracket,

r. and a rotatable second opener drum having a surface travelling in thesame direction as the first drum at a signature-opening nip, said seconddrum carrying means for gripping the outer open end of a signaturegripped by said first drum for spreading the signature to openedcondition for release onto a saddle.

6. A signature opener according to claim 5 wherein said spring meanscomprises a single member biasingsaid gripper shaft in one direction andsaid second gripper fingers in the opposite direction.

1 l 7. 'A signature opener according to claim 5 wherein said vacuum lineis flexible, and wherein said first 'opener drum is angularly adjustableabout its rotatable shaft.

8. A signature opener as defined in claim 5 further including tampermeans disposed adjacent to said plate and said first opener drum forpressing a signature against said plate during gripping bythe fingers ofsaid first opener drum.

9. In a signature opener,

.a. a plate having a relatively flat end portion for supporting the openend of asignature in position to be grasped,

b. a first opener drum, i v

c. a rotatable drum shaft supporting said first opener drum for rotationtherewith,

d. means for rotating said drum shaft and first opener dr'um, L

e. a. gripper anvil disposed on said first opener drum,

f. a first gripper finger disposed onsaid first drum and cooperatingwith said anvil,

; g. a gripper shaft mounting said first gripper finger,

said gripper shaft extending parallel to said drum shaft betweenopposite end sides of said first opener drum and being journaledthereon,

h. a first cam follower mounted on one extended end of said grippershaft adjacent to one side of said first opener drum,

. a first cam disposed on said drum shaft adjacent to said one side ofsaid first opener drum and cooperating with said first cam follower formoving said first gripper finger in one direction relative to saidanvil,

j. second gripper finger means rotatably journaled on said gripper shaftand cooperating with said anvil,

opener crating with said'second follower for urging saidsecond gripperfinger means in one direction relative to said anvil,

- m. means for holding said cams in anon-rotatable relationship withsaid drum shaft,

n. spring means continuouslybiasing said first and second cam followerstoward said first and second cams respectively during rotation of saidfirst opener drum, said spring means comprising a torsion springencircling said gripper shaft adjacent to a side of said first openerdrum opposite from said one side of said first opener drum, said torsionspring having opposite ends connected with said gripper shaft and saidsecond gripper finger means to maintain both of said cam followersbiased against their respective cams, and o. a rotatable second openerdrum having a surface travelling in the same direction as said firstopener.

drum at a signature-opening nip, said second opener drum carrying meansfor gripping a signature gripped by said first opener drum to spread thegripped signature to an open condition.

10. A signature opener according to claim 9 wherein one of said gripperfinger means is cam-closed with respect to said anvil, and the other iscam-opened.

11. A signature opener according to claim 10 wherein a first portion ofa latching means is provided on said first drum and a second portion isprovided on that gripper finger means which 'is cam-opened, saidlatching means being operative to selectively maintain a latched gripperfinger in its open, inoperative condition during drum rotation.

12. A signature opener according to claim 11 including a vacuum suckercarried on said first drum adjacent said anvil and having its mouthapproximately coplanar with a gripping surface on the anvil, a rotarytiming valve on said first drum shaft, and a vacuum line between a rotorof said valve and said vacuum sucker.

13. A signature opener according to claim 12 wherein the vacuum line isconnected to said vacuum sucker at the side of said drum remote fromsaid cams, and a fixed bracket extending radially toward said drum shaftand maintaining said cams against rotation.

1. In a saddle gatherer, a. a hopper for supporting a stack of foldedsignatures each of which has an inner facing side, b. a rotatabletransfer drum partially below and to one side of said hopper and havingits periphery closely adjacent a feeding opening in said hopper, c.gripper means on said transfer drum for taking signatures one at a timefrom said hopper by their folded edges and transporting them downwardlyin an arcuate path about said transfer drum, d. a signature-supportingplate having an arcuate signatureconfining portion closely adjacent toand substantially coaxially with the transfer drum and extendingupwardly from the lowermost part of the drum in the direction of drumrotation, said plate having a substantially flat portion extending fromsaid lowermost part in the opposite direction generally horizontally andtangentially to said drum to support the open ends of signatures due totheir natural tendency to assume a flat condition, e. stop meansadjustable along the arcuate portion of the plate for engaging thefolded edge of a signature upon release by said gripper means to bringeach signature to a registered rest condition on said plate, f. a firstrotatable opener drum having a peripheral gap therein, said drum havingits axis of rotation below and having its periphery located with respectto the end of the extending flat portion of the plate whereby asignature at rest on said plate has its open end extending inwardly intothe gap in a generally chordal direction which is below the uppermostportion of the opener drum periphery, g. means for rotating said firstopener drum in an upward direction with respect to the open end of asignature supported on said plate, h. a gripper anvil on said firstopener drum for engaging the inner-facing side on the open extending endof each signature as the first drum rotates, said anvil having agripping surface extending generally in said chordal direction, i. firstgripper means comprising fingers carried by said first opener drum forgripping the open end of each signature in cooperation with said anvilto grip the signature and to carry it up and over said first drum, j.second gripper means on said first opener drum for gripping only theinner-facing side of each signature, k. a second rotatable opener drumadjacent said first opener drum on that side remote from said plate,said second drum having its axis spaced horizontally from, and, itssurface closely adjacent to, said first opener drum, i. means forrotating said second opener drum to cause its surface to travel in thesame direction with said first drum at a nip therebetween, m. grippermeans on said second opener drum for taking the outer-facing side of theopen end of each signature from said first opener drum at the nipbetween said opener drums to spread the signature at the exit side ofsaid nip in cooperation with the second gripper means on said firstopener drum, and n. saddle means below said nip adapted to receive theopened signature for delivery in a direction parallel to the axes of theopener drums.
 2. A saddle gatherer as defined in claim 1 wherein saidhopper is spaced vertically above and on the same side of the saddlegatherer as said opener drums.
 3. A saddle gatherer as defined in claim1 wherein said second gripper means on said first opener drum comprisesa vacuum sucker, said vacuum sucker being adjustable about the firstopener drum periphery for gripping a low folio lapped signatureindependently of said anvil and first gripper finger means.
 4. In asaddle gatherer, a. a hopper for supporting a stack of foldedsignatures, b. a rotatable transfer drum partially below and to one sideof said hopper and having its periphery closely adjacent a feedingopening in said hopper, c. gripper means on said transfer drum fortaking signatures one at a time from said hopper by their folded edgesand transporting them downwardly in an arcuate path about said transferdrum, d. a signature-supporting plate having an arcuatesignature-confining portion closely adjacent to the transfer drum andextending upwardly from the lowermost part of the drum in the directionof drum rotation, said plate having a substantially flat portionextending from said lowermost part in the opposite direction generallyhorizontally and tangentially to said drum to support the open ends ofsignatures due to their natural tendency to assume a flat condition, e.stop means adjustable along the arcuate portion of the plate forengaging the folded edge of a signature upon release by said grippermeans to bring each signature to a registered rest condition on saidplate, f. a first rotatable opener drum having a peripheral gap therein,said drum having its axis of rotation below and having its peripherylocated with respect to the end of the extending flat portion of theplate whereby a signature at rest on said plate has its open endextending inwardly into the gap in a generally chordal direction whichis below the uppermost portion of the opener drum periphery, g. meansfor rotating said first opener drum in an upward direction with respectto the open end of a signature supported on said plate, h. a gripperanvil on said first opener drum for engaging the open extending end ofeach signature as the first drum rotates, said anvil having a grippingsurface extending generally in said chordal direction, i. first grippermeans comprising fingers carried by said first opener drum for grippingthe open end of each signature from both sides in cooperation with saidanvil to remove the signature from said plate and carry it up and oversaid first drum, j. second gripper means on said first opener drum forgripping only the inner-facing side of each signature, k. a secondrotatable opener drum adjacent said first opener drum on that sideremote from said plate, said second drum having its axis spacedhorizontally from, and, its surface closely adjacent to, said firstopener drum, l. means for rotating said second opener drum to cause itssurface to travel in the same direction with said first drum at a niptherebetween, m. gripper means on said second opener drum for taking theouter-facing side of the open end of each signature from said firstopener drum at the nip between said opener drums to spread the signatureat the exit side of said nip in cooperation with the second grippermeans on said first opener drum, n. saddle means below said nip adaptedto receive the opened signature for delivery in a direction parallel tothe axes of the opener drums, o. tamper means at the side of saidtransfer drum for urging and substantially confining each signature onthe flat extended end of said plate during gripping by the fingers ofsaid first opener drum, and p. means intermittently operating saidtamper means between an inoperative position inwardly of the peripheryof the transfer drum and an Operative position adjacent said plate, saidoperating means being arranged to move said tamper means away from theplate as a signature is being engaged by the anvil, whereby to providesupport for the uppper side of a signature during gripping.
 5. Asignature opener for grasping the open ends of folded signature,irrespective of whether the signature folio lap is high or low, or is ofeven length, said signature opener comprising a. a plate for supportingthe signature and having a relatively flat end portion adjacent whichthe open end of the signature is to be grasped, b. a first opener drumcomprising a pair of spaced segmental discs each of which having axiallyouter side surfaces; c. a rotatable drum shaft supporting said firstopener drum for rotation therewith, d. means for rotating said drumshaft, e. a gripper anvil and a first gripper finger on said drumbetween said discs, f. a gripper shaft mounting said first gripperfinger, said shaft extending parallel to said drum shaft between saiddiscs and being journaled therein, g. a first cam follower mounted onone end portion of said gripper shaft adjacent to an outer side surfaceof one of said discs, h. a first cam disposed on said drum shaftadjacent to said outer side surface of said one of said discs andcooperating with said first follower for moving said first gripperfinger away from said anvil to an opened condition, i. a pair of secondinterconnected gripper fingers journaled on said gripper shaft, each ofsaid gripper fingers being disposed adjacent to the outer side surfaceof an associated one of said discs, j. a second cam follower disposedadjacent to said outer side surface of said one of said discs andoperably connected to one of said second gripper fingers, k. a secondcam disposed on said drum shaft adjacent to said outer side surface ofsaid one of said discs and cooperating with said second follower forurging said second gripper fingers to grip the ends of a signaturesupported by said plate between the second gripper fingers and saidanvil, l. spring means continuously biasing said first and second camfollowers toward said first and second cams respectively during drumrotation, m. said cams being disposed in a coaxial relationship withsaid drum shaft and journaled thereon adjacent to each other on the saidouter side surface of said one of said discs, n. non-rotatable bracketmeans connected with both of said cams for maintaining said cams againstrotation, o. a rotary vacuum valve comprising a rotor mounted on saiddrum shaft for rotation therewith and a stator coaxial with said rotorand fixed against rotation, said valve being located on the drum shafton that side of the drum remote from said fixed cams and bracket, i p. avacuum gripper on said first opener drum and having its open faceapproximately coplanar with a sheet-gripping surface of said gripperanvil, q. a vacuum line interconnecting said valve rotor with saidvacuum gripper on the side of said first drum remote from said fixedbracket, r. and a rotatable second opener drum having a surfacetravelling in the same direction as the first drum at asignature-opening nip, said second drum carrying means for gripping theouter open end of a signature gripped by said first drum for spreadingthe signature to opened condition for release onto a saddle.
 6. Asignature opener according to claim 5 wherein said spring meanscomprises a single member biasing said gripper shaft in one directionand said second gripper fingers in the opposite direction.
 7. Asignature opener according to claim 5 wherein said vacuum line isflexible, and wherein said first opener drum is angularly adjustableabout its rotatable shaft.
 8. A signature opener as defined in claim 5further including tamper means disposed adjacent to said plate and saIdfirst opener drum for pressing a signature against said plate duringgripping by the fingers of said first opener drum.
 9. In a signatureopener, a. a plate having a relatively flat end portion for supportingthe open end of a signature in position to be grasped, b. a first openerdrum, c. a rotatable drum shaft supporting said first opener drum forrotation therewith, d. means for rotating said drum shaft and firstopener drum, e. a gripper anvil disposed on said first opener drum, f. afirst gripper finger disposed on said first opener drum and cooperatingwith said anvil, g. a gripper shaft mounting said first gripper finger,said gripper shaft extending parallel to said drum shaft betweenopposite end sides of said first opener drum and being journaledthereon, h. a first cam follower mounted on one extended end of saidgripper shaft adjacent to one side of said first opener drum, i. a firstcam disposed on said drum shaft adjacent to said one side of said firstopener drum and cooperating with said first cam follower for moving saidfirst gripper finger in one direction relative to said anvil, j. secondgripper finger means rotatably journaled on said gripper shaft andcooperating with said anvil, k. a second cam follower operably connectedto said second gripper finger means and disposed adjacent to said oneside of said opener drum, l. a second cam disposed on said drum shaftadjacent to said one side of said first opener drum and cooperating withsaid second follower for urging said second gripper finger means in onedirection relative to said anvil, m. means for holding said cams in anon-rotatable relationship with said drum shaft, n. spring meanscontinuously biasing said first and second cam followers toward saidfirst and second cams respectively during rotation of said first openerdrum, said spring means comprising a torsion spring encircling saidgripper shaft adjacent to a side of said first opener drum opposite fromsaid one side of said first opener drum, said torsion spring havingopposite ends connected with said gripper shaft and said second gripperfinger means to maintain both of said cam followers biased against theirrespective cams, and o. a rotatable second opener drum having a surfacetravelling in the same direction as said first opener drum at asignature-opening nip, said second opener drum carrying means forgripping a signature gripped by said first opener drum to spread thegripped signature to an open condition.
 10. A signature opener accordingto claim 9 wherein one of said gripper finger means is cam-closed withrespect to said anvil, and the other is cam-opened.
 11. A signatureopener according to claim 10 wherein a first portion of a latching meansis provided on said first drum and a second portion is provided on thatgripper finger means which is cam-opened, said latching means beingoperative to selectively maintain a latched gripper finger in its open,inoperative condition during drum rotation.
 12. A signature openeraccording to claim 11 including a vacuum sucker carried on said firstdrum adjacent said anvil and having its mouth approximately coplanarwith a gripping surface on the anvil, a rotary timing valve on saidfirst drum shaft, and a vacuum line between a rotor of said valve andsaid vacuum sucker.
 13. A signature opener according to claim 12 whereinthe vacuum line is connected to said vacuum sucker at the side of saiddrum remote from said cams, and a fixed bracket extending radiallytoward said drum shaft and maintaining said cams against rotation.